New York
Technology stocks edged higher on Tuesday and signalled a pause to two days of sell-off, while a rally in bank and other stocks powered by tax-cut optimism stalled, capping gains on the S&P 500 and the Dow.
Micron Technology, Amazon and Microsoft were among the biggest tech gainers, while Bank of America and retail stocks Macy’s and Nordstrom were all lower.
The Senate approved its version of tax code overhaul in a 51-49 vote over the weekend. Talks will begin likely next week between the Senate and the House, which had approved its own version of the legislation.
Once the bills are reconciled, the resulting bill could cut corporate tax rates to 20 per cent from 35 per cent.
UBS strategists project that overall S&P 500 earnings would rise by 6.5 per cent should the corporate tax rate fall to 25 per cent and increase by 9.5 per cent should the rate go to 20 per cent.
At 9:41am ET (1441 GMT), the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 1.32 points, or 0.01 per cent, at 24,291.37, the S&P 500 was up 0.61 points, or 0.02 per cent, at 2,640.05 and the Nasdaq Composite was up 29.50 points, or 0.44 per cent, at 6,804.87.
Autozone shares climbed 6.37 per cent after the auto parts retailer’s quarterly revenue and profit topped estimates.
McDonald’s rose 1.67 per cent, providing the biggest boost to the Dow, after brokerage Jefferies slapped a “buy” rating.
Toll Brothers shares slid about 10 per cent after the company’s quarterly profit and revenue missed estimates and it forecast a decrease in full-year 2018 adjusted gross margin.
Declining issues outnumbered advancers on the NYSE by 1,441 to 1,076. On the Nasdaq, 1,315 issues rose and 1,072 fell.
